"There are few hours in life more agreeable than the hour dedicated to the ceremony known as afternoon tea." ~Henry James, The Portrait of a Lady.

Hot beverages have always been my favorite. Could be why I enjoy wintertime so much; it is supremely satisfying to sip a steaming mug of coffee, cider, chocolate, or tea. There are other hot beverages, of course. But tea...oh the beauty of tea. The silkiness of taste, the calm which pervades my cold body when I take a sip. And nothing goes better together than tea and books! There never was a more happy couple. Except, perhaps, coffee and books. I'm not sure which is better.

As for tea, I don't think there has been a tea I've tried that I haven't liked. Peppermint is usually my favorite, especially around Christmastime. I also love lemon flavored tea. Earl Grey is a must. Even Chai tea is amazing when combined with the right amount of milk.

Tea

Adagio Tea

Stash Tea

English Tea Store

The Republic of Tea

Upton Tea

Teavana

Golden Moon Tea

Revolution Tea

Celestial Seasonings

Bigelow Tea

Tazo Tea

Argo Tea

...and many more. Hop on over to Google and type in tea and see what you can find!

Actually, George Orwell, author of the dystopian novels Animal Farm and Nineteen Eighty-Four, wrote what I might call a short treatise on tea. You can find it here.

I'd go to New York City simply to go to Alice's Tea Cup. What an exquisite little shop! I want this, by the way. Donations, anyone??? :-P

A plethora of books have been written on the subject of tea, which seems appropriate, since I've already stated that books and tea are rather inseparable. Try amazon.com.

One of these days I shall make this Teapot Cake:

"Tea. Earl Grey. Hot. And whoever this "Earl Grey" fellow is, I'd like to have a word with him... "

~Jean-Luc Picard, Star Trek, The Next Generation.

"The mug from the washstand was used as Becky's tea cup, and the tea was so delicious that it was not necessary to pretend that it was anything but tea." ~Frances Hodgson Burnett, "A Little Princess".

One last website, if you haven't seen enough of tea already! Tea Land